Sunday, September 20, 2020

Tracking Down Trolls

A friend recently pointed out the website Spot the Troll, developed by The Clemson University Media Forensics Hub. The front page of the site says:

"The quiz where YOU examine images of real social media content and decide whether it's from a legitimate account or an internet troll."

I like to think I'm good at sniffing out untruth, so I decided to take the quiz. There were eight profiles. Each had a selection of posts from one social media account (Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.). Some of the profiles were real, and some were not. After I clicked the box to saying if I thought it was authentic or fake the test gave the answer and gave information about why. 

It turns out I was not good at distinguishing the real from the fake accounts, and I really appreciated the explanations that told me what to look for. When I was done I went back through the quiz to look for the signs of a fraudulent account. This time they were easy to see.

I hope I can remember to keep a critical eye out when I see things posted on social media. I'd hate to think that someone can fool me easily.

Five years ago today: Off Key Symphony

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